Minnehaha County, SD Accessory Structures: Shed Rules (2026)

Minnehaha County's Planning & Zoning Department administers the County Zoning Ordinance for all unincorporated areas (areas outside Sioux Falls, Brandon, Hartford, Dell Rapids, and other incorporated municipalities). Authority for county zoning derives from SDCL Chapter 11-2, which empowers counties to adopt land-use regulations 'to promote the health, safety, and general welfare' of the unincorporated area. Sheds and other detached accessory storage structures are permitted accessory uses in residential (R-Residential, RR-Rural Residential) and agricultural (A-1 Agricultural) zoning districts. Side and rear yard setbacks for accessory structures are typically less restrictive than for the principal dwelling, but the structure must remain behind the front building line of the primary residence. South Dakota has no statewide preemption on accessory structures, so the county sets its own thresholds for when a zoning permit or building permit is required. Cities within the county (Sioux Falls, Brandon, Hartford, Dell Rapids) administer their own separate shed rules under their municipal codes. Sheds, like any structure, are also subject to the general nuisance framework of SDCL 21-10-1 (a structure that endangers comfort, health, or safety, or that renders other persons insecure in the use of property, may be declared a nuisance). The county Floodplain Management Ordinance applies additional rules to sheds placed in mapped FEMA Special Flood Hazard Areas along the Big Sioux River and Skunk Creek corridors.